add-member

# Add Lab Member

This skill guides you through adding a new lab member to the website with proper formatting, bio writing, and image handling.

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:
- "Add a new lab member"
- "Create a profile for [name]"
- "Add [name] to the team page"
- "Update [name]'s role"
- "Mark [name] as alumni"
- Any request involving adding or updating team member profiles

## Interactive Workflow

### Step 1: Gather Basic Information

Ask the user for essential details:

**Required**:
- Full name
- Role (pi, postdoc, staff, phd, ms, ra, programmer, undergrad, highschool)

**Optional** (we'll research if not provided):
- Email address
- GitHub username
- LinkedIn profile
- Personal website
- Current institution/program (if student)

**Use AskUserQuestion** to collect this information if not provided in the initial request.

### Step 2: Web Research

Conduct web research to gather background information:

1. **Search LinkedIn** for education and work history
   - Query: "[Full Name] LinkedIn [institution if known]"
   - Extract: degrees, institutions, prior positions

2. **Search GitHub** for username and projects
   - Query: "[Full Name] GitHub [email domain if known]"
   - Extract: username, notable repositories

3. **Search institutional pages** for bio information
   - Query: "[Full Name] [institution] neuroscience/biology/computer science"
   - Extract: research interests, current work

4. **Search publications** if applicable (PhD/postdoc)
   - Query: "[Full Name] [institution] publications"
   - Extract: research areas

**Present findings to user**:
- Show what you found
- Ask user to confirm accuracy
- Ask for clarification on anything unclear
- Request any missing critical information

### Step 3: Draft Bio

Using the gathered information and role-appropriate template:

1. **Determine bio length based on role**:
   - PI: 250-300 words (detailed)
   - PhD/Postdoc/Staff: 100-150 words
   - MS/RA/Programmer: 80-120 words
   - Undergrad: 80-100 words
   - Alumni: 50-250 words (based on tenure and achievements)

2. **Follow bio template** from templates/ directory:
   - Use third-person voice
   - Professional, academic tone
   - Include: education, join date, research focus/current work
   - Mention co-advisors if applicable
   - Highlight prior experience if relevant
   - Note awards/fellowships if notable

3. **Present draft to user**:
   - Show the drafted bio
   - Ask if they want to make any edits
   - Refine based on feedback

### Step 4: Handle Profile Image

1. **Ask user for image**:
   - "Do you have a profile photo for [name]?"
   - If yes: "Please provide the path to the image file"
   - If no: "We can use a placeholder for now and add it later"

2. **If image provided, validate and optimize**:
   - Check file size and dimensions using `file` or `sips`
   - Target specs: 100-250 KB, reasonably square aspect ratio
   - If too large (>500 KB) or wrong aspect ratio:
     - Offer to resize/optimize using scripts/optimize-image.sh
     - Use `sips` (macOS) or `convert` (ImageMagick) if available

3. **Generate image filename**:
   - Format: `firstname-lastname.jpg`
   - Ensure no spaces or special characters
   - Copy to `images/` directory with correct name

### Step 5: Generate Member File

1. **Create filename**: `_members/firstname-lastname.md`

2. **Build frontmatter**:
   ```yaml
   ---
   name: [Full Name]
   image: images/[firstname-lastname].jpg
   role: [role]
   description: [Role display text from roles.yaml]
   links:
     email: [email if provided]
     github: [username if found/provided]
     linkedin: [profile if found/provided]
     home-page: [url if provided]
   ---
   ```

   - Only include links that are available
   - Remove empty link fields

3. **Add bio text** (from Step 3)

4. **Write file** to `_members/firstname-lastname.md`

### Step 6: Handle Alumni (if applicable)

If the role is `alumni` OR user indicates this person is leaving:

1. **Ask for alumni details**:
   - Year they left/are leaving
   - Their role while in the lab (if different from current)
   - "Next" position (where they're going)

2. **Update team/index.md**:
   - Read current alumni section
   - Add entry in chronological order (most recent first):
     ```markdown
     - YEAR: [**Name**](/members/firstname-lastname.html) (Role Description). **Next:** [Next position]
     ```
   - Maintain proper formatting

### Step 7: Validate

Run validation checks:

- [ ] Member file exists at `_members/firstname-lastname.md`
- [ ] YAML frontmatter is valid
- [ ] Role is valid (check against roles.yaml)
- [ ] Image file exists (or noted as placeholder)
- [ ] Bio is appropriate length for role
- [ ] Bio uses third-person voice
- [ ] Links are properly formatted
- [ ] If alumni: team/index.md is updated

### Step 8: Present Summary

Show the user what was created:

```
✓ Created member profile for [Name]
✓ File: _members/firstname-lastname.md
✓ Role: [role display text]
✓ Image: images/firstname-lastname.jpg [or "Placeholder - add later"]
✓ Links: [list of included links]
[✓ Updated alumni list] [if applicable]

Bio preview:
[First 100 characters of bio]...

Would you like me to show you the full file content?
```

### Step 9: Optional Commit

Ask user if they want to commit the changes:
- If yes: Create git commit with appropriate message
- If no: Leave as unstaged changes for manual review

## Bio Writing Guidelines

### Voice and Tone
- **Always third person**: "Jane is a PhD student..." (not "I am...")
- **Professional and academic**: Formal but not stuffy
- **Factual and achievement-oriented**: Focus on credentials and work
- **Present tense for current work**: "working on", "developing", "researching"
- **Past tense for background**: "received", "worked", "joined"

### Essential Elements

**All members should include**:
1. Current role and institution
2. When they joined (month and year)
3. Education background (degree, major, institution)
4. Current research/work focus

**Additional elements by role**:

**PI**:
- PhD institution and advisors (with hyperlinks)
- Research philosophy and approach
- Notable publications or media coverage
- Prior positions
- Major awards and honors

**PhD/Postdoc**:
- Undergraduate and/or Master's institution
- Specific research interests
- Co-advisors if applicable
- Previous research experience if notable

**Staff/Programmer**:
- Prior work experience (industry or academic)
- Technical expertise and focus areas
- Projects they're working on
- Joint appointments if applicable

**Students (MS/Undergrad)**:
- Major and year
- Research interests
- Prior internships or research if applicable
- Awards/fellowships if notable

**Alumni**:
- All of above based on their role
- Mentors (especially for short-term interns)
- Achievements during time in lab
- Keep concise for summer interns (50-80 words)

### What to Avoid

- First person narrative (except possibly PI intro)
- Excessive detail about projects (keep to 1-2 sentences)
- Future tense or speculation
- Casual language or slang
- Personal information unrelated to research
- Redundancy with frontmatter (name, role already shown)

## Image Handling Details

### Preferred Specifications
- **Format**: JPG (preferred) or PNG
- **Size**: 100-250 KB for web optimization
- **Aspect ratio**: Square or nearly square (1:1 or 4:5)
- **Minimum dimensions**: 300x300 pixels
- **Recommended**: 400x400 to 600x600 pixels
- **Color**: RGB color space

### Optimization Process

If image needs optimization:

```bash
# Use the bundled script
bash .claude/skills/add-member/scripts/optimize-image.sh input.jpg output.jpg 500
```

Or manually with sips (macOS):
```bash
# Resize to 500px max dimension, maintaining aspect ratio
sips -Z 500 input.jpg --out output.jpg

# Convert PNG to JPG
sips -s format jpeg input.png --out output.jpg
```

Or with ImageMagick:
```bash
# Resize and optimize
convert input.jpg -resize 500x500^ -quality 85 output.jpg
```

### Filename Convention
- Use kebab-case: `firstname-lastname.jpg`
- No spaces, special characters, or uppercase
- Match the member file slug
- Examples: `jane-doe.jpg`, `john-smith.jpg`

## Role-Specific Notes

### Adding Alumni

When adding someone who has already left:

1. Set `role: alumni` in frontmatter
2. Include their actual role in bio text
3. Update `team/index.md` alumni section with:
   - Year they left
   - Role description in parentheses
   - "Next:" annotation if known

### Handling Co-Advisors

When member has co-advisor:

1. Mention in bio: "co-advised by [Name]"
2. Include hyperlink if possible: `[Name](url)`
3. Note in summary when presenting to user

### Joint Appointments

When member has joint affiliation:

1. Mention in bio: "jointly with the [Lab Name]"
2. Include hyperlink to other lab if available
3. Note collaborating PIs clearly

### Students Transitioning Roles

When student moves from undergrad → MS → PhD:

1. Create new member file? **No** - keep same file
2. Update `role:` field in frontmatter
3. Update bio to reflect new status
4. Update `description:` field
5. Consider adding a note about the transition in bio

### Summer Interns

Short-term members (2-3 months):

1. **While active**: Add with role `undergrad` or `highschool`
2. **When leaving**: Change to `role: alumni`
3. **Bio**: Can be brief (50-80 words) but highlight:
   - Institution and program
   - What they worked on
   - Who mentored them
   - Any notable achievements

## Error Handling

**If web search finds nothing**:
- Ask user to provide information directly
- Offer to draft minimal bio and let them expand

**If image is wrong format/size**:
- Offer to optimize using provided tools
- If tools not available, provide manual instructions
- Worst case: use placeholder and note in summary

**If unsure about role**:
- Present role options from roles.yaml
- Use AskUserQuestion to clarify

**If duplicate member exists**:
- Check if it's an update vs new member
- Ask user if they want to update existing or create new

## Validation Checklist

Before finalizing, verify:

- [ ] Full name matches across filename, frontmatter, and bio
- [ ] Role is valid (one of: pi, postdoc, staff, phd, ms, ra, programmer, undergrad, highschool, alumni)
- [ ] Image filename follows convention (kebab-case, .jpg)
- [ ] Bio is third person throughout
- [ ] Bio length appropriate for role (see guidelines)
- [ ] Join date mentioned in bio (month and year)
- [ ] Education background included
- [ ] All links are properly formatted
- [ ] YAML frontmatter is valid (test with parser)
- [ ] If alumni: team/index.md updated correctly
- [ ] No trailing whitespace or formatting issues

## See Also

- [reference.md](reference.md) - Detailed documentation on member file format and patterns
- [examples.md](examples.md) - Example workflows for different scenarios
- [templates/](templates/) - Bio templates for each role type